Two parties of climbing rangers tried to reach the stranded climber on Monday, but winds of 50 knots forced one group to end the rescue and the other to spend the night in a snow cave, a park spokeswoman said.

The climbing rangers are trying to reach the man again on Tuesday. At the same time, rangers were in the Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis McChord.

The man was in a party of three climbers who began their ascent on Friday from White River. But as the weather got worse, the man suffered and eventually could no longer walk.

His climbing partners left him on Liberty Ridge on Monday to get help. On the way down the mountain, they ran into climbing rangers.

The rescue teams were then launched from the Emmons Glacier and Camp Schurman.

KOMO-TV identified the climber as Rob Plankers, a manager of the Alpine Experience in Olympia.

"He's a very, very experienced climber of all of the Northwest on very difficult climbs -- winter, spring, summer and fall," Joe Hyer, an owner of the business, said.

But Hyer is hopeful that the rescue workers will get to Plankers soon.

"One of the things we have in the Northwest that we are so thankful for is that we have the climbing rangers that we have and the mountain rescue folks though Joint Base Lewis-McChord and they are doing everything possible right now," he said.